The telecommunications network in the United States forms the basis for many communications services offered by various telephone companies. This network involves over 100 million telephones that link together over 200 million people and 4 million places of business in the United States. Telephone companies publish directories for various towns and cities that indicate the telephone numbers of people and businesses residing in the specified towns and cities. Large establishments have many people who have telephones in their offices and who receive many telephone calls. Consequently, large establishments publish telephone directories that indicate the telephone numbers of the people and departments in the large establishment.
Large establishments often assign individual internal addresses, which are often kept in computer databases, to locate the occupants of their buildings. The internal addresses also enable the establishment to know where the establishment's telephones are located and to make it easier for mailroom personnel to deliver internal mail.
People and departments in large establishments frequently have their offices moved to new locations. As an occupant moves from one office or desk to another, the occupant's internal address changes and telephone number changes. The telephone system or some internal department should indicate the occupant's new telephone number so that the occupant will continue to receive telephone calls. In order for the occupant to continue to receive telephone calls, someone would need to change the occupant's telephone number in a database and/or publish new telephone directories. Often, the occupant's telephone number change does not occur, so telephone calls continue to be directed to the occupant's old telephone number, inconveniencing the person who has the occupant's old telephone number. Thus, a disadvantage of the prior art is that a great amount of time may expire before members of the large establishment and outside individuals realize that the occupant changed his/her telephone number.